The Staples family in Millfall was not the only one discussing Viscount Symons' downfall as an opportunity. All eight of the remaining noble families in the city were talking about it at the crack of dawn.
Some wanted to do what Shelby wanted to do: sent their proposals to the capital, signaling their interest in taking over the Symons family lands.
Others, however, talked about it, pondering who had the best chance of promotion and the consequences.
Rising through the ranks of the nobility was a complex process, even in such unusual situations. It wouldn't be enough to have a noble title to compete in the way Shelby wanted.
Viscount families were not stronger and more relevant just because of their higher titles. They usually had more capabilities than Baron families, who may or may not be able to fulfill the obligations of a higher-ranked title.
In other words, there were different "levels" for each noble title. For example, there were simpler Barons, some of them newly promoted and of humbler origins, or even old but declining nobles. Someone like that would have to go a long way to become competitive enough to compete for the title of Viscount. But there were also those wealthier upstart Barons or old nobles with solid positions who could move up as the opportunity presented itself.
Some of the powers of Millfall had enough to aspire to the title left by Viscount Symons, but not all of the local Barons were in that position.
But even for those who didn't want to send their bids to the capital, this was a matter to be discussed, as it could have a major impact on their lives.
The Viscount's position was the most influential for this city, so a change in mentality, in the type of business policies, could significantly affect the other local nobles.
So even the most ordinary Barons in the city woke up this morning talking about who would be promoted.
There were two possibilities. One was that one of the 8 local Baron families would ascend to the position left by Viscount Symons, which would be less of a problem since all the locals had known each other for a long time. The other was for the king to choose a Baron from outside Millfall, which would mean the arrival of a new family in town, something that could change many things locally, bringing opportunities and problems to the town.
However, this was not the only issue the nobles were discussing. When someone rose to the position of Viscount, a new noble family appeared in the province!
According to the kingdom's laws, Scott Province had to have 81 Barons, as this was the ideal configuration of nobles in this area for the best local functioning. That was something that the royal family had come to after a long period of observation and various tests throughout their reign.
The royal family benefited most when its vassals administered its lands. At the same time, it had long realized that there should be a balance of power within their provinces.
The Scott Province had 81 Barons, 27 Viscounts, 9 Counts, 3 Marquises, and 1 Duke. Through this division of power, the 3 Marquises had the same amount of land as the Duke, while the 9 Counts had the same amount of land as the 3 Marquises. The 81 Barons had the same amount of land as the 27 Viscounts combined.
The Duke's family could not lead the province in an authoritative manner due to this division of power, which was done to limit the power of the highest-ranking nobleman in the area.
Because of the royal interest in maintaining the parts of their state under this division of power, a new family would have to rise to the nobility after the fall of the Symons family.
A new group would gain a peerage, something less significant than for those who would gain the title of Viscount but still relevant.
Thus, not only those interested in the title of Baron among the non-noble powers of the city were talking about it this morning. Even those who were most concerned about the position of Viscount were talking about the possible consequences of a wealthy local family ascending to the position of Baron.
Among the non-noble families talking about it, House Burt, Mira's family, was naturally preparing to make their move, having already made proper preparations the night before.
As soon as Mira's father woke up, the young woman was already at his bedroom door to talk about the proposal they had to make to the king. She had prepared it in advance because of her agreement with Vicente!
...
While the wealthiest families in Millfall rushed to get their proposals to the king as quickly as possible, and others simply reassessed the local situation, Vicente was still at his family's Mazzanti estate.
He had spent the night with his people since there was no guarantee that they wouldn't be attacked again after the death of The Faceless Ones' emissaries.
But not only that, the night before, he and his men had been busy with many things, from counting the proceeds of the enemies they had killed, the robbery of the Symons family, to interrogating the woman Vice had kidnapped.
Vicente, Rory, and Layla had concentrated on this for part of the previous night but had also been on standby in the building in case they had to act.
They meditated in shifts to regain their better fighting states, which, along with counting the profits and interrogating Sarah, had consumed their entire night.
By dawn, the risks for them had decreased exponentially, and they would soon be able to separate again to go about their own business.
But before that, the three of them gathered in Vicente's office, having just finished interrogating the black-haired Mid-level Mage woman.
The three of them had serious looks as they sat around Vicente's office, all without masks, watching each other's worried expressions.
"What are we going to do? As much as we have a small advantage in this situation by knowing before the enemies know what we've done, it's not much. Besides, the enemies are worse than we can handle." Rory commented to them while Layla closed her eyes and Vicente looked sideways at the balcony of his office.
After torturing Sarah using the interrogation methods he had learned on Earth, Vicente had gotten her to say a lot of things.
He had confirmed his suspicion that she and the others were members of The Faceless Ones faction, but he had also learned from her about the strength of that group, where Jasmine was, and their plan regarding her!
